The 2017 Legislative Session in Review

Since inauguration day, the president has been carrying out his draconian campaign promises of mass deportations. In the first 100 days of the administration, immigration arrests were already up nearly 40% over the previous year. Across the country, and here in Tennessee, ICE has been terrorizing communities and separating families.

But, the president isn't alone in his work to build up a deportation force. We've seen the many ways that Tennessee elected officials are making it easier for the federal government to carry out mass deportations. Check out our policy update below.

A total of five anti-immigrant bills were filed this year and our coalition successfully defeated all but the sentencing enhancement bill. For an overview of the five proposals, read our policy update at the start of the legislative session.

The day after the president signed his mass deportation executive order and threatened to go after so-called "sanctuary cities", Senator Green and Representative Goins filed a copycat bill that aimed to prohibit local governments from setting reasonable limits on how federal authorities can conduct immigration enforcement using local resources. The bill threatened withholding all state funding for jurisdictions that did not comply. Another bill attempted to force localities to comply with all federal immigration enforcement activities.

Throughout the session, we educated lawmakers and worked with law enforcement to demonstrate how these misguided bills could jeopardize public safety, waste taxpayer resources, and make localities liable for due process violations. Both of the bills to mandate local collaboration with federal immigration enforcement were stalled in committee.

Taking a page from the president's playbook, Senator Beavers and Representative Ragan introduced an unnecessary and mean-spirited bill to label certain immigrants' driver licenses with the word “Alien” or “Non-U.S. citizen." The sponsors used the president's unfounded arguments about voter fraud to justify this bill. While amendments aimed to soften the language by instead using the word "visa" to brand the license, the discriminatory and unwelcoming intent of the bill remained. We worked with business leaders to educate lawmakers about how this bill would negatively impact our state. The scarlet letter bill stalled in committee and a vote was delayed until 2018.

A bill by Senator Green and Representative Butt would have strictly limited the circumstances under which cities or counties can issue photo identification. Similarly, this bill never made it to a vote in committee. As a result, cities and counties can still decide to implement municipal IDs to benefit their residents and promote civic and economic engagement.

While we were devastated that our tuition opportunity bill once again failed by a single vote, we remain encouraged by the growing and diverse coalition of supporters, including Governor Haslam, who endorsed our bill for the first time this year. We'll be back next year stronger and more determined than ever!

Tennessee Attorney General Launches Attack on DACA

AG Herbert Slatery joined 9 attorneys general and a governor in sending a letter to the Trump administration with an ultimatum: end the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program by September 5th or they'll sue.

It is shameful that the attorney general has put Tennessee at the forefront of the anti-immigrant movement, fighting to put 8000 young Tennesseans in the deportation pipeline. But, immigrant youth are here to stay - and ready to fight for DACA.

From leading campaigns to pass the DREAM Act, to stop the deportation of students, and for tuition equality, immigrant youth in Tennessee have built a powerful coalition of their friends and classmates, educators, business leaders, and more. This summer, we'll be bringing coalition partners together in a statewide campaign to #DefendDACA.

In one of his first executive orders, the president made clear that he would need local law enforcement to join his deportation force. The Knox County Sheriff, J.J. Jones, wasted no time. In March, we learned that he had applied for a 287(g) agreement, hoping that his employees would be able to help with mass deportations in Knox County. This week, we learned that Trump administration approved his application.

The 287(g) program is a formal agreement between local jurisdictions and the federal government that deputizes local law enforcement as immigration agents.

Sheriff J.J. Jones has a troubling record of civil rights violations, including pledging to "stack [immigrants] like cordwood" in his jails. That Knox County will acting as federal immigration enforcement agents is devastating news for all residents of Knox County, especially immigrant families who will be living under unthinkable fear of their local law enforcement. All residents suffer when critical law enforcement resources are diverted to separating families and public safety is undermined by eroded trust between immigrants and police.

Sheriff J.J. Jones has a troubling record of civil rights violations, including pledging to "stack [immigrants] like cordwood" in his jails. That Knox County will acting as federal immigration enforcement agents is devastating news for all residents of Knox County, especially immigrant families who will be living under unthinkable fear of their local law enforcement. All residents suffer when critical law enforcement resources are diverted to separating families and public safety is undermined by eroded trust between immigrants and police.

While the program won't formally go into effect for a few months, our work to ensure the disastrous program is short-lived in Knox County begins today. We'll be working with our members and partners to monitor Sheriff Jones and his deputies, defend the rights of residents, and make sure that no other county follows Knox's lead by applying for 287(g). Stay tuned for ways you can take action!

On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed two laws that make it easier for the president to carry out his vision of mass deportations. The day before, the president hosted a roundtable urging lawmakers to support both bills. Unfortunately, the Tennessee delegation overwhelmingly voted to advance both bills.

Punitive Anti-Immigrant Tennessee Law Goes Into Effect Today

Public Chapter 492 grants Tennessee's courts the ability to impose harsher sentences on defendants for any offense, solely based on whether they are "illegally or unlawfully" in the U.S. This is the first law of its kind in the country. Other states have attempted to enact similar legislation to criminalize people based on their status, but they have been struck down by the courts. We'll be monitoring the implementation of this new law and exploring our legal options. If you or someone you know might be affected by this law and is arrested, charged, or convicted after July 1st, 2017 for any crime, including misdemeanors, please call our hotline at (615) 414.1030.

Keeping Nashville Out of the Deportation Business

As the Trump administration increasingly relies on local governments to carry out mass deportations, cities across the country are adopting policies to protect residents, restore trust in their communities, and ensure local resources aren't used to separate families.

City council members in Nashville have demonstrated tremendous leadership and courage by introducing a set of policies to draw a bright line between city agencies and federal immigration enforcement. TIRRC and 18 other local organizations joined together for the #NashvilleTogether campaign to support the passage of the ordinances. As you read in our last email, the ordinances were withdrawn and won't be going before council for a final vote next Thursday.

Although BL-739 won't be voted on next week, Nashville families aren't giving up! Here's how you can help:

Take 30 seconds to send a message to city leaders urging them to take action.

Join us for a rally outside City Hall on July 6th at 5:45pm to say, "Families can't wait!" Find more details and RSVP on Facebook.

While the state legislature has adjourned for the year, our efforts to defend the rights of immigrants and refugees at the federal level and to advance pro-immigrant agendas in cities and counties across the state continue. We are gearing up for a summer of resistance and protecting our communities from hate, deportations, and unjust policies. Stay tuned for a few big policy announcements! And please consider making a donation to fuel our policy and civic engagement work this summer.

Thank you to the many organizations, institutions, and individuals who took action this session by writing emails, making phone calls, and meeting with legislators. You make our coalition stronger!